Specifying a Table of Contents Entry

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 14, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

If you are creating a regular table of contents from headings within the document, you don't need the information in this tip. Instead, you should refer to the TOC tips provided in other issues of WordTips. If you are creating a specialized TOC, however, then you will need the information in this tip. Examples of a specialized TOC would be a table of figures, illustrations, or tables. To create these types of TOCs, you must follow these two basic steps:

Specify what you want in the TOC.
Generate the TOC.

The first step is done by the following these steps; the second is covered in the next tip.

Position the insertion point immediately after the text you want included in the TOC.
Press Ctrl+F9 to insert a set of field braces. Make sure the insertion point stays between the braces.
Type tc, followed by the TOC entry within quotes. Thus, if you want the entry to be "North American Mammals", enter tc "North American Mammals" between the field braces.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each TOC entry you want to define.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12659) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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What is nine minus 5?

2020-03-14 02:30:46

BradleyK

This page has a mention of the TC field but the TC field should be treated as what it is, a completely separate field that is used by the TOC field to create a Table of Contents.

This is the first time I have been frustrated by the TIPS site. I have used the site for Word and Excel for over a year.I And seeing the other areas it includes, I am planning on checking out a couple of other forums.

But Table of Contents related fields is complicated according to the Word Help results. That is why I love your site. Short, to the point , very descriptive texts to specific tasks. I think even my wife could use your tips. (She is very incompetent with Windows, Word and Excel and refuses to go to any classes about these subjects. I am not nearly as good at technical support withing the family as I was when I did telephone customer support for printers and servers long ago. Those customers were usually technically competent and just need a little help with the printer or the server.)

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